Total pages in book: 119
Estimated words: 116396 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 582(@200wpm)___ 466(@250wpm)___ 388(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 116396 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 582(@200wpm)___ 466(@250wpm)___ 388(@300wpm)
The priest handed me the dagger. “Her blood is your blood.”
I took the dagger and swiped across my palm, making the blood spill out and drip onto my shoes and the floor. I handed the blade to her, and she did the same thing, giving no sign of discomfort.
Our palms were bloody as they came together, transferring between the two of us.
“You’ll walk through this world as husband and wife, and you will enter the afterlife as souls forever intertwined.”
We didn’t make it back to the castle.
We ended up in a quiet alley between two buildings, shielded from the lights down the main pathway. Her dress was hiked up to her waist, her panties were tugged so hard to the side that the seam ripped just a bit, and I had her pinned against the wall with her leg over my hip.
Heavy breaths filled the space around us, muffling the rest of the world. My eyes were locked on hers, hers locked on mine. We suppressed our moans in the beginning to keep quiet, but after the minutes ticked by, we abandoned our restraint and just lived in the moment.
Her hand cupped my face, and she kissed me as she moaned at the same time, taking my big dick as she was held in place. Her nails cut into my skin slightly, not enough to bleed, but enough to make me burn as the sweat breached the surface. “Ryker…” She said my name exactly as I imagined my wife would, with desperate need, with lustful longing. I knew my wife wouldn’t be some prude who would only get it on behind closed doors. I knew she’d be free, unapologetic, would fuck anywhere, anytime.
I knew she’d be like Effie.
My pants were just at the bottom of my ass, and her hand was underneath my shirt, clawing at my back. Her gown was dirty from the road, and now it was covered in sweat from our midnight rendezvous. The maids would take one look at it and know exactly what had transpired.
She looked so beautiful with a coating of sweat on her skin, with that beautiful shine, and it took all my strength to keep it together instead of blowing this grand moment prematurely. I wasn’t going to start off this marriage on bad terms. I was a husband who put his wife first, a man who put his woman first.
But thankfully, she released a moment later, her nails deep in my skin, her face against mine to muffle her screams.
I could feel how tightly she gripped me, feel the depth of her climax. “Sweetheart…” I knew the whores faked it with me sometimes just to boost my ego, so I knew what was real and what was just a show. This was real. Every time with her was real. I barely let her finish completely before I released, coming deep inside her as her husband.
It felt so good, better than it ever had.
We remained tangled together against the wall, our breaths deep and uneven, our skin coated with sweat. Now we had to walk uphill back to the castle because we hadn’t thought this through.
Her eyes were as bright as ever, gazing at me with that look of longing she’d shown when we first got together. “I guess I can just tell you the truth since we’re stuck together. I love you.”
My eyes shifted back and forth between hers.
“That’s why I was so heartbroken…because I loved you the moment I saw you.”
My feelings hadn’t risen to that level, not until we stepped before the high priest and vowed to love each other for all eternity. But it hit me then. “I love you too, sweetheart.”
NINETEEN
Ryker
A week came and went.
There was no news about Ivory and Huntley. But if there had been, I wasn’t privy to it.
The Capital was a glorious city known for its beauty and ambiance, but it quickly transformed into a battleground. The engineers worked on large crossbows to take down the dragons from the skies.
I didn’t see Haldir or the rest of Necrosis, but I suspected they were still around, waiting to find out if Rutherford had secured Regar. Effie and I spent our time together in bed most days. I would take her on walks through the city, and we would have lunch at our favorite cafés. If we weren’t at war and Necrosis weren’t in our midst, I’d think we were on our honeymoon.
Effie and I were playing a game of chess at the dining table when a knock sounded on the door. “King Rutherford requires your presence in the grand hall.” The servant’s footsteps grew loud as he ran away then disappeared altogether.
My eyes locked on Effie’s.
Her eyes immediately fell. “They must have taken Minora.”
“Yeah.”
“This is really happening, then…”
“Unfortunately.” I gave her a kiss goodbye then headed to the grand hall. I was the last one there, and I felt the piercing gaze of Haldir as I moved to my seat. He hadn’t paid me attention before, but now he stared me down as if I didn’t belong there.